Twitter officially launched in March of 2006.
Demographics:
- 79% of users are from the United States
- 42% of internet users aged 15-17 use Twitter
- 32% of internet users aged 18-28 use Twitter
- 13% of internet users aged 50-64 use Twitter
- Female
- 23% of girls ages 13-14
- 49% of girls ages 15-17
- Male
- 19% of boys ages 13-14
- 34% of boys ages 15-17
Twitter has been utilized by professional sports teams ever since the beginning of the app. This platform has given the teams the ability to directly communicate with fans. They are able to have fans respond to posts, talk to fans from there, post polls, and post “trendy” things such as memes and other graphics. Another way that teams use this platform is through posting sponsor related items. For example, some teams have programs where they get deals at sponsoring companies, such as McDonalds, Papa Johns, etc. when teams score a certain amount of goals. These promos are then posted on the team’s twitters, letting fans know about this discount and a great opportunity for sponsor possibilities. One of the best ways that teams use the app is through game updates as well as videos, gifs, and player shots of goals and goal scorers respectively. This gives those who are not able to watch the game the ability to follow along with the action. Players also utilize this app to post things about what they are doing off the field and connect with fans.
In 2017, Twitter brought in a total of $2.443 billion in revenue. They made 86% of their total revenue from advertisements on their site. The app sells promoted tweets, promoted accounts, and promoted trends to any user on the site. Through these promoted features, accounts will have their reach broadened through algorithms the company uses. They also sell a lot of the data on their site that relate to consumer response as this information is vital to many companies.
Twitter has a few market competitors, but no real threats in their direct field. Apps like Instagram and Facebook pose some threats to Twitter but for the vast majority, these apps are used simultaneously by consumers. Twitter also has a second use as a news site because of the ability to search trends, putting consumers on the foreground of breaking news situations. The company has had issues creating profits as they have just recently posted their first profitable quarter ever. From a different angle, Twitter has a fairly volatile record on the stock exchange and have been turning an uptrend for the first time in a few years.
Sources:
https://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-demographics/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/274568/quarterly-revenue-of-twitter/
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/120114/how-does-twitter-twtr-make-money.asp
https://www.recode.net/2018/2/8/16989834/twitter-q4-2018-earnings-revenue-jack-dorsey